I was able to begin teaching my new class at Cecil Floyd on Wednesday, August 24.  I understand how hard it is to say goodbye, but I think my new students handled the transition from their former classrooms to mine very well.  I am so happy to be back in the teaching role again after spending the weekend and the first two days of the week packing and moving my old Emerson classroom and setting up my new classroom at Cecil Floyd.

We spent the first few days learning the new procedures of my classroom and getting to know one another.  The main things my students need to remember is that every day they should SOAR (Show Respect, Observe Safety, Accept Responsibility, and Resolve Conflict).  They can do these things by remembering four simple rules.  1. Follow directions quickly. 2. Raise your hand for permission to speak.  3. Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat. 4. Make smart choices.  Students' behaviors will be monitored and rewarded weekly.  I have punch cards that students will use to keep track of their behaviors in the long-term.  Each week that a student goes without a mark, they will receive a punch on their reward card and go into a drawing to sit in our Seat of Honor.  As a class we brainstormed potential rewards for when our punch cards are filled.  Reward levels are at 5, 10, 15, and 20+ punches for individuals and the whole class.  I look forward to the chance to reward the students for their exemplary behavior!

We have started our first class read aloud called It's the First Day of School...Forever!  After having two first days this year, I am sure some of the students almost understood the meaning of the title.  We are also beginning an investigation into the meaning of our names, and how we got them.  I look forward to learning the story behind the names in our classroom.  We have reviewed simple multiplication and division as we prep ourselves for the district's new math series, enVision Math.  We are also learning and reviewing states & capitals to begin our year's study of American history.

I cannot wait to spend the rest of the school year with my students at Cecil Floyd.  Check back frequently for updates on what we are
 
Hello readers!  Many changes have come since May 22.  Our city was changed completely by a natural disaster.  We have been working hard since then to rebuild and come back better than ever.  However, due to many factors, enrollment is down at Emerson Elementary.  Due to these low numbers, I will be moving to Cecil Floyd Elementary to teach a 4/5 split for the 2011-2012 school year.  Newsletters will continue to be posted as frequently as possible.  I look forward to sharing all of the exciting news from room 504!
 
 
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Click the ribbon to find out ways you can help the Joplin Schools.
My what a long way we have come since my last post.  Our world has changed dramatically due to a tornado that hit our community at 5:41pm on May 22.  An F5 tornado tore a path through the middle of our town, taking lives and destroying homes, schools, and businesses.

Ms. Asbell's account:
In Southwest Missouri, we are used to the tornado sirens.  In Joplin, when we hear them, frequently the first things we do is head for the nearest door to search the skies.  The night of May 22, we did just that.  However, this night something was different about what we saw.  It was very different from the hundreds of other nights I'd spend scanning the skies.  We sensed that this wasn't just another night of sirens, this was serious.  I took shelter in our hallway, huddled with Jonathan, our bird, and the radio.  The initial reports said that they expected a tornado to touch down in the Airport Drive area, the portion of town where our home is located.  The predictions continued to change, and finally spotters reported that the tornado had touched down at St. John's--the spot of our last 5th grade field trip only 2 days before.  We heard that the storm was continuing to cut a path across the city.  As we sat and listened to the reports of what was going on around us, all I could think about was, "Where are the people I love- my family, friends, co-workers, and students?" 

As we began to hear reports that the tornado had passed and that destruction filled our town, we decided to leave our home to locate loved ones and account for their safety.  Along the way, we saw so much devastation, and I kept thinking how blessed I was to have been living in a home untouched by the storm’s fury.  We slowly made our way across town- I saw the apartment complex where many of our students lived.  There were many familiar faces standing on the porches with looks of panic and shock.  I felt numb.  As we neared Emerson, dread began to fill me.  I knew that it was on the edge of the path, but I was uncertain how much of the storm would have reached it.  We approached from the north side of the school, the side that my classroom was on, and I just saw windows shattered and the pitch-black darkness of a building without electricity.  I began to weep, thinking about my home away from home—my classroom.  We couldn't get very close to the building due to downed trees and power lines, so we continued to cross town, attempting to reach Ms. Lawrence, my co-teacher.  Just south of Emerson there were many fires caused by breaks in gas lines.  Smoke filled the streets and people were wandering around wrapped in blankets.  It was surreal driving through the wasteland that my beloved town had become.  I felt panicked and nervous trying to make contact with those I love.  The whole town was filled with people who just had looks of shock and terror on their faces.

It took us hours to cross town, being unable to ever reach Ms. Lawrence's home, but feeling relief when I finally got word that she was safe.  As we slowly began to hear from those who lived in the affected area, the enormity of the situation began to set in.  I knew immediately life was going to be different-- very different, and for a VERY long time.  We spent the rest of the night listening to emergency service vehicles and rescue helicopters race back and forth saving lives.  The next day, we went set out to help others pick up the pieces- a process that continues today.

Over the next several days, we began to take stock of all the things lost.  Joplin Schools lost the high school, technical center, a middle school, and an elementary school.  Our school and several others were badly damaged.  A total of 10 out of the 18 buildings had received some damage in the storm.  The district worked diligently to account for the 9000+ students and employees.  Within the week all were accounted for.  Sadly, 7 students and 1 staff member were lost in the storm.

Every student in Room 210 has been accounted for.  While several in Room 210 have lost their homes, no one was critically injured.  Our school building suffered damage, particularly the wing that housed Room 210.  Most everything within was lost.  It was a full week before we could enter the building.  When I stepped foot in my room, it was like entering a foreign land, not the classroom I had just spent the last nine months in.  It was emotionally exhausting to look around and take stock of the pieces of my career that were strewn about and covered in debris.

Emerson will not be our home next year, as we have been relocated to Duquesne Elementary until decisions are made about the state of our school.  Since the day of classroom cleanup, I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love that people have given to me and my students.  Joplin has initiated a campaign called Adopt-A-Classroom and Room 210 has been matched up with Mrs. Buhlinger- another 5th grade teacher whose classroom is located in Bartlesville, OK.  We have also been paired with a group of retired teachers out of the Oklahoma City area, headed up by Ms. Nancy Powell. We have been contacted by an office of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services with an interest in helping.  And have been the beneficiaries of a campaign spear-headed by a 5th grade girl from New Jersey.  We have also been the winner of the TeachHUB, My Classroom is a Hot Mess contest thanks to the voting of thousands of friends and total strangers!  We have also been the recipient of donations that completed four Donors Choose projects!  We have also received private donations from my family & friends who want to show their love and support to my students.

Our new classroom will have a different room number and location, and we have a long road ahead in rebuilding collections of books and classroom tools that were lost.  I'm know with the help of all of our compassionate benefactors, and a lot of hard work on my part, that I will rebuild a classroom still feel like the Room 210 we knew and loved.

View pictures of the building and classroom after the tornado: http://s960.photobucket.com/albums/ae84/msasbell/May%2022%20Tornado/

If you would like to donate to our classroom, follow the links below.
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look for email address [email protected]
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Room 210 Before & After
 
MAP Testing week 1 has come and gone.  We have finished Communications Arts, and 1/2 of Science.  Congrats 5th grade, we're almost there!  Next week we will do math and finish science.  I am so proud of your hard work and I believe in you all!

Also, students have started using a personal classroom social networking site, emodo.  It's a lot like Facebook, and we've been having a great time learning and using Web 2.0 at the same time!
 
We have been very busy in Room 210! 

Since our last newsletter, we have finished our Advertising WebQuest.  The commercials and ad turned out great.  I know that the students learned a lot about persuasive techniques used in advertising.  We have wrapped up our study of fractions and studied multiple digit multiplication and division.  We studied various genres and developed Glogs to teach our classmates about different genres.

This coming week, we will start MAP testing.  I know that Asbell's Amazing Academics are prepped and ready! Good luck to all of Room 210!
 
We are getting ever-closer to finishing our Advertising WebQuests.  I'm very excited to see what the students generate as advertisements for our tween magazine.  We took a break from our webquest Monday to celebrate President's Day by writing about what we would do if we were president for just one day.

We continue to study fractions during math.  We are starting to work with mixed numbers and will soon be working with fractions with unlike denominators.

This week in reading, we practiced working with non-fiction texts.  We read about the arctic and Antarctica to complement the fictional Mr. Popper's Penguins that we just finished.  Also, we started a Dr. Seuss author study for Read Across America next week.  Students picked a Dr. Seuss quote and described how that quote applied to their lives.

Next week we are celebrating Read Across America with a spirit week, these are the various daily activities:
Monday-Exercise your reading ability and wear your workout clothing.
Tuesday-Hats off to Dr. Seuss, wear a hat!
Wednesday-Be a good sport, read and wear your favorite team jersey.
Thursday-Dr. Seuss wrote some crazy, mixed up stories!  Mix up your clothes by wearing them inside out!
Friday- Books help you dream of faraway places and days to come.  Dream and wear your jammies!
 
Monday was a crazy day, we came back from our 9 snow days! It was Valentine's Day and the 100th Day of School!  We read the story Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch! After reading the story, we talked about admiration, then used our knowledge about admiration to write a special note of admiration to one of our classmates.  Thank you to Taylor's mother for throwing us a great Valentine's party as well!
 
After the excitement of Monday, Room 210 got back to business over the course of the next 4 days.  In writing, we are currently working on our Advertising WebQuest that I developed for my eMINTS certification.  We are learning a lot about marketing strategies and will be developing our own advertisements in the next weeks.  In math, we've begun our study of fractions.  In reading, we finished Mr. Popper's Penguins this week, what a fun book!  Finally, in social studies we've started studying Colonial Life.  We are going to learn about the founding of the colonies, then life in the colonies.  Finally, we will be making comparisons between colonial life and 21st century life.

It was great being back in Room 210 with all of my students.
Tuesday we welcomed our 20th student to Room 210.
 
We didn't have school at all this week due to the weather.  I know I'm going a little stir-crazy!  I can't wait to be back in Room 210 with my kiddos.  Monday is going to be crazy, 9 days out of school and it's Valentine's Day!  Looking forward to it though!
 
Sadly, much of this week was spent outside of the school building.  Monday word of a blizzard moving through the area led to a lot of scurrying to accomplish as much as possible before the impending snow days.  I assumed we would only be out a couple of days, but then the snow started to fall and kept falling.  We did not return to school the entire week.  I for one was stuck at home until Thursday!  I am certainly missing my students.  I hope that they are all home, safe and warm, and that we will once again gather together next week!